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Sunday, February 15, 2009

The False Hope Of Iran Part Two

The Information you may not know.

Hey folks,

We're back. OK. So we talked about the Times piece talking about the "experts" who are completely wrong, saying what we should talk to Iran about. Well, did you know that just this past Thursday, 12 February 2009 , The LA Times and Iran Focus printed this. U.S. now sees Iran as pursuing nuclear bomb By Greg Miller

Reporting from Washington -- Little more than a year after U.S. spy agencies concluded that Iran had halted work on a nuclear weapon, the Obama administration has made it clear that it believes there is no question that Tehran is seeking the bomb.

Really? Did you hear that?

In his news conference this week, President Obama went so far as to describe Iran's "development of a nuclear weapon" before correcting himself to refer to its "pursuit" of weapons capability.

{laughing} He really knows what Iran is up to. He just cannot come right out and say it. He may upset some Anti-War Kooks.

Obama's nominee to serve as CIA director, Leon E. Panetta, left little doubt about his view last week when he testified on Capitol Hill. "From all the information I've seen," Panetta said, "I think there is no question that they are seeking that capability."

OF COURSE NOT. You know, I just got scolded, last week, or the week before, for saying I know more about Little Hitler {Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad} and Iran itself than Obama. Sorry, truth is truth.

The language reflects the extent to which senior U.S. officials now discount a National Intelligence Estimate issued in November 2007 that was instrumental in derailing U.S. and European efforts to pressure Iran to shut down its nuclear program.

As the administration moves toward talks with Iran, Obama appears to be sending a signal that the United States will not be drawn into a debate over Iran's intent.

"When you're talking about negotiations in Iran, it is dangerous to appear weak or naive," said Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear weapons expert and president of the Ploughshares Fund, an anti-proliferation organization based in Washington.

That is ALL Obama appears. "Weak and naive." Why do you think that Ahmadinejad, and the rest of the Terrorists over there WANTED Obama to win?

Cirincione said the unequivocal language also worked to Obama's political advantage. "It guards against criticism from the right that the administration is underestimating Iran," he said.

Yeah that is working well, huh?

Iran has long maintained that it aims to generate electricity, not build bombs, with nuclear power. But Western intelligence officials and nuclear experts increasingly view those claims as implausible.

What I have been warning you about for nearly three years.

U.S. officials said that although no new evidence had surfaced to undercut the findings of the 2007 estimate, there was growing consensus that it provided a misleading picture and that the country was poised to reach crucial bomb-making milestones this year.

No. They will have it. They just launched a Rocket into space to prove they have the delivery capability as well.

Obama's top intelligence official, Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, is expected to address mounting concerns over Iran's nuclear program in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee today.

When it was issued, the NIE stunned the international community. It declared that U.S. spy agencies judged "with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program."

U.S. intelligence officials later said the conclusion was based on evidence that Iran had stopped secret efforts to design a nuclear warhead around the time of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Which I dis-proved. This was completely reversed from what the report say said Previously. There is more than mounting evidence that Little Hitler is closer than we think.

Often overlooked in the NIE, officials said, was that Iran had not stopped its work on other crucial fronts, including missile design and uranium enrichment. Many experts contend that these are more difficult than building a bomb.

Iran's advances on enrichment have become a growing source of alarm. Since 2004, the country has gone from operating a few dozen centrifuges -- cylindrical machines used to enrich uranium -- to nearly 6,000, weapons experts agree.

By November, Iran had produced an estimated 1,400 pounds of low-enriched uranium, not nearly enough to fuel a nuclear energy reactor, but perilously close to the quantity needed to make a bomb.

A report issued last month by the Institute for Science and International Security concluded that "Iran is moving steadily toward a breakout capability and is expected to reach that milestone during the first half of 2009." That means it would have enough low-enriched uranium to be able to quickly convert it to weapons-grade material.

Tehran's progress has come despite CIA efforts to sabotage shipments of centrifuge components on their way into Iran and entice the country's nuclear scientists to leave.

Iran still faces considerable hurdles. The country touted its launch of a 60-pound satellite into orbit this month. Experts said Iran's rockets would need to be able to carry more than 2,000 pounds to deliver a first-generation nuclear bomb.

And there are indications that the U.S. and Iran are interested in holding serious diplomatic discussions for the first time in three decades. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said this week that his nation was "ready to hold talks based on mutual respect," and Obama indicated that his administration would look for opportunities "in the coming months."

OF COURSE he wants to talk. It's called stalling Boys and Girls. Oh, you want to know where Time got the false belief that Little Hitler has no real power and is on his way out? From Iran!

Hassan Qashqavi, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, on Wednesday warned the U.S. not to wait for Iranian presidential elections this year, because ultimate authority rests with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He also said Iran would be patient.

"Since a new administration came to power in the U.S., we do not want to burn the opportunity of President Obama and give him time to change the reality on the ground," Qashqavi said.

But experts said Iran was now close enough to nuclear weapons capability that it may be less susceptible to international pressure.

They have NEVER been susceptible to international pressure. They never will be.

"They've made more progress in the last five years than in the previous 10," Cirincione said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US intelligence does not know whether Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons, but at a minimum Tehran is keeping that option open, the new US intelligence director said.

Retired admiral Dennis Blair said US intelligence assesses that Iran has not restarted nuclear weapons design and weaponization work that it halted in late 2003.

"Although we do not know whether Iran currently intends to develop nuclear weapons, we assess Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop them," he said in an annual threat assessment to Congress.

{Laughing} What happened to "According to the evidence, there is no doubt?"

The assessment essentially reaffirmed a 2007 intelligence report that at the time was widely seen as a setback to international efforts to put pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

Blair's predecessor, retired admiral Mike McConnell, later said it had been a mistake to make public the key judgements of the intelligence assessment because it suggested Iran was no longer pursuing nuclear weapons.

Which is what is was suppose to do. It was all BS. Complete BS

Asked about it at a Senate hearing, Blair acknowledged it was a difficult question to deal with in a public setting.

"I can say at this point that Iran is clearly developing all the components of a deliverable nuclear weapons program -- fissionable material, nuclear weaponizing capability and the means to deliver it," he said.

"Whether they take it all the way to nuclear weapons and become a nuclear power will depend a great deal on their own internal decisions," he said.

"Nobody in the international community wants to see a nuclear armed Iran, either. The question is what are you going to do about it," he said.

EXACTLY! What is Obama going to do about it. Go smile and wave. Have Tea and Naan-Gerdooee. Wave his hand and say, "You know, the Evil Bush is gone. I won. You can trust me. You can be assured that I will control the US and leave you guys alone. Come on. Sing Kumbaya with me." Ahmadinejad will then say "Oh I know, I know, Yes, yes. The Devil is gone. Good for you. Because you are now in charge, we will be friends. This is the start of a beautiful friendship. Kumbaya my friend, kumbaya. Oh, you want some tips on how to be a good Dictator?"

"If the international community can put together a real package of sticks and potential reassurances that meets some of these concerns that Iran feels, there is a chance, there is a chance they will choose another course," he said.

But he said that will be difficult because the international community remains divided over what to do.

SO? We should not be. Israel is not. We KNOW what needs to be done. Stop them from becoming Nuclear at ANY COST.

"We judge Iran probably would be technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) for a weapon sometime during the 2010-2015 time frame," his report said.

But it said the State Department intelligence office believes Iran is unlikely to be able to produce enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon before 2013 because of forseeable technical problems.

Just flat out Bunk. He has enough right now. or will have as soon as possibly by the end of THIS year.

Asked about Iran's launch last week of a domestically manufactured satellite into orbit, Blair said it demonstrated that the Iranians are mastering multi-stage missile technology that could be used for either peaceful or military purposes.

"If they put resources on it, they can make a serious missile force," he said.

That is the point.

Blair said the United States should not count on a change in policy in Iran even if President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is turned out of office in June presidential elections.

"We expect (Supreme leader Ali) Khamenei will attempt to manipulate the presidential election, largely by limiting the range of candidates," his assessment said.

Of course. HE IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

So let's recap. Obama KNOWS that Little Hitler is closer than they are publicly telling us. He knows that if they become Nuclear, they WILL USE THEM. So I asked President Obama, What DO you intend to do about it? It is FAR easier to prevent a Nuclear Holocaust, then it is to explain WHY you let it happen.Peter